‘Compass’: Philosophical fantasy or irreligious propaganda?

What’s your opinion on the long-brewing controvery surrounding the film version of Philip Pullman’s best-selling fantasy novel “The Golden Compass,” which opens nationwide Dec. 7? Religious groups claim the outspoken British author uses his books to spread atheism; his defenders claim this is merely the latest tempest in a teakettle over a wildly successful children’s fantasy. Read Christopher Ringwald’s story in Friday’s Times Union and share your own take by commenting below.

Casey Seiler

12 Responses

“Irreligious Propaganda” is such a loaded term. It shows a negative bias against anything that might be said that is not flattering toward religion. Every Religion claims to be the repository of absolute truth and because there can only be one truth, at the very best of circumstances, only one of them can rightfully make that claim with ALL the others being wrong, a very chauvanistic position to say the least. The non-religionist position is not much different than the prevailing attitude held by each religion regarding all the others, except that we just believe that one more religion is also false.

The current flap over this author’s philosophical understandings and the attacks by the Catholic Church to silence him, are just another attempt by religion to marginalize and mute the the voice of intellectualism. In as much as the secularization of society has stopped religion from using the popular methods used in the past, like killing them, to quell dissent, they have had to resort to other more subtle methods that, while not as effective, are still barbaric. In more chauvanistic societies (especially the ones that embrace Islam), the methods of control are still of the more barbaric type, as illistrated by the recent problems over the naming of a teddy-bear, or the death sentence called upon the head of Salman Rushdie.

The Atheist position has always been held up to derision, which is amazing because it is the only position that is acheived honestly. Religion is derived from the accumulated myths and superstitions of our less than intellectual ancestors which have been dogmatized, institutionalized and mounded into the colossal pile of drek that each religion claims is absolute truth. The search for truth is difficult and is inhibited by the fact that we are spoonfed as children, most of the silly notions we end up holding most dear and which most people NEVER question, no matter how improbable or illogical they are. That so many are willing to die, or worse, kill in the name of this or that god is only a measure of how little we have evolved as a species. We have made great strides in our quest for knowledge and have reached a point where we are technologically able to realize what, by reading their own holy books, seems to be the end and in many cases, eagerly sought after goal of ending the world. I hope you don’t mind if a few of us make the case for the rational approach so that our species survives long enough to spread out into the galaxy and continue to ask the question, “Why?”.

Over the past several years during this holiday season, we’ve gone from “Merry Christmas” to “Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah” to “Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa” to just plain “Happy Holidays.” In this upcoming month it’s exceptionally apparent the repercussions of all the griping and groaning going on about religions being discriminated against and oppressed.

And I think a lot of people forget that not believing is believing too.

The dismissal of God over the past few decades is nothing new. Children raised in a religion may build a foundation of their lives on it’s core beliefs and values, sure – but now in the 21st century, it’s becoming a lot more commonplace for those children to grow up and live their lives without a “daily dose of Christ.”

Speaking for myself, when the “Passion of the Christ” came to theaters, I just groaned and rolled my eyes at the church’s not-so-subtle attempt to use Hollywood as a way to shove more religion down my throat. Don’t forget the also not-so-subtle undertones of the Peanuts comic, and the movie adaptation of “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.”

It’s just good business to play both sides of the field once in awhile, having a preverbal tennis match between religious themes and non.

Religious believers have the right to moan and complain that Hollywood is making movies to draw people away from their beliefs.

Non-religious believers have the right to moan and complain that Hollywood is making movies to shove religion down our throats.

Isn’t it about time we all just agreed to disagree? Everyone has different beliefs. Two people sitting next to each other at mass will interpret the priest’s sermon in different ways. It’s just human nature.

In this season of “good-will towards men”… maybe we can take another step towards the greatest gift of all; acceptance.

The reason that friction exists between those who must cling to god concepts to give meaning to their lives and those of us who don’t, is that we are not trying to force religionists to believe what we believe by forcing them to obey laws which exist only to serve their narrow beliefs. Abortion, science, who may love whom, are all areas where religion intrudes to stiffle the beliefs and feelings of others. No one is holding a gun to the head of a religionist to force them to have an abortion, yet they feel it is their right to assign a status to the fetus that is purely religious and force women to bare unwanted children.

The religionist outlook seems to be that in as much as they possess absolute truth handed down from their, seemingly vane, vindictive god (the whole eternal damnation thing), that we must all conform to their perceptions of societal behavior, which, as we can see, is working out so well in religious societies. If we are to have a warm & fuzzy, live and let live relationship, one of us is going to have to bend. Considering that religion is rock hard rigid member of this equation, I think it is easy to see which of us will have to give in, as we are willing to let anyone believe anything they want, as long as they don’t force their beliefs on us.

Those agitating against this movie need to realize they’re not the only people on the planet, and that the rest of us have the right to live our lives outside the dictates of their religion.

More than that, we have the right to THINK and even to SAY what we think about their religion.

That silly incident in Sudan, where a teacher was arrested for allowed a teddy bear to be named Muhammad, is different only in degree. Christianity is not without its own overreactions to such things, and only a few hundred years back had an equally free hand to hurt people over equally silly incidents.

As a non-Christian, I’ll agree not to see Christian movies, if they’ll leave me the freedom to see this one. They’re welcome to scream their hatred at Philip Pullman and this movie, as long as they don’t block the sidewalk when I go to see it.

And just as a funny side effect of all this silly shouting, the movie will probably be horrendously popular.

I wonder if any of the Christians are aware they may have been deliberately manipulated into just this situation? In exactly the same way, Bill O’Reilly triggers hordes of avid listeners every winter as he cranks up his “War On Christmas” schtick on the radio.

I’ve started calling the technique “Shriek Marketing,” and I’m convinced there’s someone out there who deliberately creates just this sort of controversy in order to leverage a little bit of media money into a huge publicity end product.

The sad part is that the rest of us have to deal with the tiresome social noise such knee-jerk religious reactions — whether fundamentalist Muslim or fundamentalist Christian — create.

If these militant Christians are so secure in their beliefs, so sure that their god exists and is all that they say he is, then why do they insist on constantly trying to squelch the ideas of others with opposing viewpoints? If their beliefs are obviously the right ones, shouldn’t people be able to figure that out for themselves? Perhaps the militant Christians are just scared that if they allow any criticism of their beliefs, people will start seeing the holes and weaknesses in their arguments. Either way, don’t atheists have a right to free speech, too?

It is interesting to note what the commotion is about. If I am not mistaken Christians simply want to make other religious people aware that their children might be exposed to Atheistic ideas by seeing this movie. Notice, how I said other religious people as opposed to other Christians, because this is one of the few instances where the god fearing people of the world band together and all decide together that Atheism is wrong… and “after all we might not agree with each other but at least we believe in something”.
It has long been acceptable to bash atheism. Can you imagine if the Christians made this big fuss over a movie because they get exposed to Buddhist philosophy? Interesting that I don’t recall such a big deal was made over fight club… because fight club was rated R, and it wasn’t likely that the children were going to see it. They make it seem as though this is about protecting their children, but it is not, it is another way to draw attention to their dogma. Since when is exposing children to the opposition a bad thing anyway? And lets be honest here… this is a fantasy movie and that is all, if these people are worried about Atheistic ideas penetrating their children’s young and impressionable minds I hope they plan on sheltering them for a long time.
I think everybody should enjoy the movie, and relax! I know ill be there

Caution – There are series spoilers in this message – do not read if you intend to read the series: I suppose it’s OK for some to force Christianity on Non-Christian people, feeling that their joy and knowledge is sublime and forth-right. I am a Christian, but my beliefs are my own and I respect others’ beliefs, too. Personally, as a friend once said to me, they are all paths to God. ‘His Dark Materials’ is one such path, so to speak. First of all, it is fiction. That alone should tell you a great deal about it. How many books have been written that are damned because they are fiction that challenges the norm? People who align fiction with specific teachings and messages simply do not have open minds to enjoy a good story when you read it. Of course, in many instances, wonderful stories and fiction can often be supplanted for history – and that is truly tragic. But this story doesn’t pretend to be history; it doesn’t teach anything but loyalty, honor and perseverance…it is a story – and a well-written, entertaining story at that. Condemning it using Christian ideals is to condemn imagination and wonder. The ‘Magesterium’ is not the Catholic Church. It is an organization in another world, consisting of squabbling departments and powers-that-be who all think they are in charge (many governments are actually like this – not unlike our own). ‘The Authority’ is supposedly God – so we are lead to believe…but it actually is not God…it is the first of ranking angels who unrightfully assumes the position. God is not explained, nor is God even addressed – it can be equivocated to God in today’s world that allows events (both good and bad) to unfold in support of a divine plan of which you may or may not believe. So it’s reasonable to say that God is present in the story, God just doesn’t intervene. The ‘end of death’ specifically refers to the crowding of ghosts into a dark and confined area – for all of eternity. Religion, in this fictional story, tells the faithful you will become a part of Heaven after you die – they don’t really know what happens to you, actually; but they support the idea that Heaven exists. The girl, Lyra, finds that this is simply not true in the way we understand it, and with the aid of her extraordinary friends, creates a means by which the ghosts are released in what can only be equated to…a heaven. ‘The Authority’ has a Regent – he is a bad angel. But we have seen bad angels before in scripture, so this fictional story draws an imaginative picture that is inspired by biblical stories (who some non-Christians may say is fiction, too). At the end of the day, just read the story if you really want to know what it’s about rather than fall victim to others’ misguided opinions (many of whom haven’t even read the books). If you are so afraid a fictional story will influence you to lose hope or faith in God – then you may not have a soul anyway. Of course…we could just burn all the books and then resort to the wonderful art of oral story telling – but I am sure Hollywood would find a way to infiltrate that, too – leaving us with no way to entertain each other without offending our beliefs. Really…what is this world coming to?

If the religious fenatics are so worried about their children being corrupted and damaged… maybe they should pay attention to the doings of their own priests first rather than raising an uproar over a movie that’s… you know… fiction.

Where as a little altar boy in the back room of the church “confessing” to his priest is rather non-fiction.

I think some people may be misguided in their information as to why some Christians are uneasy with this literature and movie.
Here’s my 2 cents:
1. The Golden Compass is by no means appropriate for young children as there are some pretty graphic and scary descriptions. I know that they have been sold at elementary school book fairs and as a parent I would not want my young reader to read this book. However, I would allow an older child read it with my permission and with my involvement.
2. Pullman very purposefully crafted this novel in response to C.S. Lewis’s beloved “The Chronicles of Narnia” series. He self-admittedly wanted to propagate an anti-God message and purposefully aimed it toward young children. Pullman is boisterous in his loathing of Aslan (the allegory character that represents Christ in the Narnia series). Pullman even goes so far as to write his young character in the likeness of young Lucy who finds herself in the wardrobe when she mistakenly discovers Narnia in the beginning of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”. His rewriting of scripture is brazen at best, if not blasphemy.
3. Though this book series is an attack on the Catholic church, C.S. Lewis was by no means a Catholic. Pullman lumps his distain for the Catholic church in with the evangelical message of Lewis’ writings. This too seems a common mistake for those here in the Albany area that are most familiar with the Catholic church rather than other streams of Christianity such as the Evangelical.
4. I think many Christians actually do a disservice to their children by trying to shelter them from the secular world rather than guiding them while their children are in their homes. Sheltered children who never learn how to deal apologetically (a defense of their faith) with those who disagree with them later have their world’s rocked and foundations shaken when they go off to college and have professors attack them as mine did to me. My parents helped me by informing me, nurturing me, but then allowing my faith to be my own. When my professors came at me I took all things into consideration but I was not shaken.
5. I do not feel threatened by this book and movie. I am not afraid of those who do not believe as I do, perhaps that’s a result of the tolerant generation I belong to. I have many friends who believe otherwise or simply have no faith at all and yet we are friends despite that.
6. Jeers to New Line cinema for the release during the holiday season and to Disney for the postponed release of Lewis’ “Prince Caspian” from December 12th until May of 2008.

As for the outcry over God being killed in the book; God, in the form of Jesus, was already killed 2000 years ago but he rose again triumphantly on the third day. That is the euaggelizō (good news).

I bought the boxed set of the His Dark Materials books a good while ago, about the time the Narnia movie showed up on TV. I heard about Pullman’s books being children’s stories like the Narnia ones, but not so overtly Christian, which I noticed in the Narnia movie. So I got the books to have something fun and interesting to read. I became busy with my last undergrad year at university, so I put off reading the books. They’re still in the unopened box. This Christian uprise about the books and the movie only encourages me to remove the shrinkwrapping.

I had Evangelical Christian friends at a secular university. One was a Harry Potter fan and had read all seven of those books, despite believing that all magic tricks, including those that would fool only little kids, are Satanic black magic. He also had read all of the Narnia, Middle Earth and Left Behind books, so I showed him my boxed set of His Dark Materials and said it was children’s fantasy literature that he may like. He is the sort of Christian who thinks the Catholic Church is corrupt and that individual preachers can be nutty, so he should be able to enjoy the books.